Hundreds of children among them! Thousands face trial on charges of 'insulting the President'
In 2023, 6,879 people appeared before criminal courts on charges of “insulting the President” and “degrading the government.” It was learned that hundreds of children were among those individuals.
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Statistics from the Ministry of Justice for 2023 revealed that investigations were opened against many citizens, from the young to the elderly, in accordance with Articles 299 and 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK).
According to the statistics, it was learned that files are opened against thousands of citizens every year at Chief Public Prosecutor's offices on the grounds of “insulting the President.”
According to the report by Mustafa Bildircin from BirGün; it was reported that 25,520 files were opened at Chief Public Prosecutor's offices in 2023 alone under Articles 299 and 301 of the TCK, which define “crimes against the symbols of the state's sovereignty and the dignity of its organs.”
The number of suspects in these files was stated as 18,856. The total number of files opened at Chief Public Prosecutor's offices under TCK 299-301, including those carried over from 2022 to 2023, reached 55,583.
THOUSANDS OF CONVICTIONS
The number of files under TCK 299-301 for which the investigation phase was completed and which were moved to criminal courts was also shared by the Ministry of Justice.
Accordingly, 7,491 files under TCK 299-301 were moved to criminal courts in 2023. The number of people brought before judges as defendants was recorded as 6,879.
In 2023, convictions were handed down against 1,602 of the defendants tried in criminal courts under TCK Articles 299 and 301. A decision of “deferment of the announcement of the verdict” was issued for a total of 1,982 defendants. The number of acquittals was recorded as 1,774.
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TRIED
The number of people tried in criminal courts under TCK Articles 299 and 301 for the crime of insulting President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during the four-year period covering 2019 and 2022, as well as 2023, is listed by year as follows:
2019: 13,731
2020: 9,560
2021: 12,304
2022: 16,753
2023: 15,791
LAWSUITS FILED AGAINST CHILDREN TOO
The number of children for whom files were opened in 2023 under TCK 299-301 is also noteworthy. It is stated that in 2023, a total of 673 files were opened at Chief Public Prosecutor's offices against 552 children under the age of 18 under TCK articles 299-301.